Childbirth Tips

There are many ways to give birth and a multitude of options surrounding birth.

Here are some childbirth tips to help you prepare for your birthing experience!

Be informed. Look into the different options you have, read books, take a childbirth education class, hire a birth doula. Knowledge is power and to have a positive childbirth experience, it’s important to understand what is happening, what can happen, and what to expect.

Be healthy. Living a healthy lifestyle can lead to a healthy birthing experience. Ensuring hydration, nutrition, and exercise helps your body and baby stay healthy. Walking, lunging, and light exercise is a great way to prepare your body for the physical work of labor.

Don’t let fear rule you. The unknown is scary and bad things can happen during childbirth. It can be overwhelming to think of the possibilities or complications, and the dramatic versions of childbirth portrayed on television can incite even more fear and anxiety surrounding birth. Fear cannot help you, but it can make things more difficult. There is a distinct association between fear, progress of labor, and pain of labor. The more fear in your body, the less effective labor becomes, the longer labor becomes, and the more painful labor becomes. Rear more about fear vs. labor here.

Don’t worry about pooping while pushing. Not many people are thrilled at the idea of accidentally pooping in front of several people, possibly ones you love and see every day. But the reality is that the same muscles you use to push a baby out, are the same ones you poop with. So, if you do poop while pushing, it’s because you are doing a good job! Your care provider or nurse is used to this sort of thing, and they’ve gotten good at sweeping that stuff away before anyone else even notices – so seriously, don’t worry about it!

Plans can change. You can do everything in your power to prepare and plan for your birth, but it’s never a guarantee. Things can change quickly during birth, so it’s important to educate yourself about all possibilities as well as benefits and risks, so that if a change of plans comes up, you can quickly make an informed decision. When you try to develop a concrete plan of how things ought to go, you can wind up feeling disappointed at the slightest change because it went against your birth plan. Stay open-minded, write down your birth preferences, but understand that plans change and keep your eye on the prize.

Be your own advocate. This goes along with being informed in a big way. This is your birth, and your baby. It is entirely up to you how this thing goes and no one can do anything to you without your consent. But you need to speak up for yourself, ask questions, and stand strong.

Feel no shame. Do not allow anyone to tell you that your experience is wrong or lesser in any way. Whether you have a cesarean, induction, epidural, narcotics, or un-medicated birth. There is no one right way to birth, only YOUR way. What applies to one birthing mother, does not apply to another. Each birth is unique and must be treated as such.